By Rebekah Riess, Chris Boyette, Hanako Montgomery

(CNN) — Search-and-rescue volunteers in Japan have found the body of an Auburn University student who went missing during a family vacation, his family said, marking a tragic end to a frantic dayslong search across forested mountains.

James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, was found dead Saturday outside Kyoto, his family announced in a social media post. The statement does not provide information on how he died.

“Our family is heartbroken to share that Weston was found deceased by a volunteer search-and-rescue group in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto. The grief we feel is impossible to put into words,” the family wrote.

A passionate naturalist, Weston vanished May 29 after leaving his parents and brother to explore Kyoto on his own after butting heads with his mother over her use of ChatGPT – and the natural resources such AI requires – to navigate their trip.

Using the Life360 app to track his location, his parents saw that Weston got on a train and visited several stores. They texted him to ask where he was going, and his location was turned off shortly afterward, which was out of character for him, his mother said.

Weston was last seen on CCTV footage walking alone in the city’s Yamashina area, on a path that led to a hiking trail in the nearby woods.

Given the camera’s location near the trail and Weston’s love of hiking, police decided on June 2 to search the forest, but were hindered by a storm that brought wind and heavy rain to the region that night.

Officials cited concerns for Weston’s safety during the storm should he have been in the mountains at the time.

A 72-hour police search of the densely wooded area Weston was last spotted walking toward ended Friday, according to the family. The search involved more than 100 police officers, K-9s and helicopters.

On Saturday the Higginbothams launched their own search efforts, with help from local residents and a hired search-and-rescue team to focus on areas of the forests of Yamashina that police did not search, according to the family.

Following the discovery of Weston’s body, the family thanked those who had shared their story and aided in the search.

“The outpouring of kindness and support has carried us through the darkest days of our lives,” the family wrote. “Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. We will need them now more than ever. We will always love you, Weston.”

Weston loved to ‘embed himself in different cultures’

Weston’s mother, Nancy Higginbotham, described him as an ardent protector of the environment and a wanderer who loved to travel and enjoy nature.

“He just loves to go outside and go for a walk at a trail or go for a small hike, no matter what time of day,” she told CNN’s Erin Burnett Friday. “That’s just fun to him.”

As a lover of the natural world, Weston had spent his life protecting it, too. That became more of a focus for him about a year ago, when Weston became vegan. As a student at Auburn University, Weston had been studying sustainability engineering.

Weston was always educating himself “about the world” and reading books every chance he had, his mother said. On the trip, Weston had been carrying a book about butterflies in his back pocket.

“His goal in life is to travel…and go to all of these amazing mountains and places where he can embed himself in different cultures,” Nancy Higginbotham said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
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